49ers have a coach, not Mr. Manners

The word is out: The 49ers are tough, physical, borderline dirty and unpredictable.

But enough about Harbaugh’s handshakes.

Jim Harbaugh urged us all to stop discussing and asking him about last season’s postgame handshake with Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. So please, nobody mention to Harbaugh that the U.S. Postal Service is commemorating that moment on a stamp.

The problem with putting that incident behind us is that it wasn’t merely a momentary lapse of decorum by Harbaugh (or a bizarre flip-out by Schwartz). It became the symbol of the 49ers.

If The Catch symbolized the Bill Walsh 49ers, who were clutch and creative, and the halftime trou-drop symbolized the Mike Singletary 49ers, then The Handshake symbolizes the Harbaugh Era.

Harbaugh, I’m pretty sure, would choose a different symbol. A Frank Gore groundhog-burrow for 7 yards, a Justin Smith haul-down of a much speedier player, or The Dagger – Alex Smith’s pass to Vernon Davis against the Saints.

Sorry, Jimbo. You get only one vote, and you lose, 1 million to 1.

It’s not like The Handshake was an isolated incident. Harbaugh ain’t big on social graces. His postgame handshakes, in general, lack football’s traditional sincere insincerity. The thought balloon over Harbaugh’s head during the handshake is usually, “Whatever, dude.”

Harbaugh’s MO is to ignore convention. Alex Smith as quarterback? Harbaugh was outvoted 1 million to 1 on that one, too, but ignored the vote. Trying to win in the NFL as a rookie head coach with two coordinators you dragged with you from college? Come on. Building your defense around linebackers and then attacking the mighty Packers with about 10 skittering defensive backs? Gulp.

Off the field, Harbaugh is similarly unencumbered by niceties. When he doesn’t like a media question, he brushes it off like a caterpillar on his lapel. If the caterpillar crawls back, he crushes it with a hammer.

Harbaugh’s players understand that he doesn’t care about the Jim Schwartzes and the media because all he cares about are his boys. They show their appreciation with total devotion to the cause.